Group Releases Plan to Prevent Beach Closings

A Great Lakes watchdog group says visitors to the lakes can help reduce beach closings this summer. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A Great Lakes watchdog group says visitors to the lakes can help reduce beach closings this summer. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


Officials close beaches when bacteria levels get too high. That’s because E. coli bacteria can make swimmers sick. The Lake Michigan Federation is issuing what it calls a “Prescription for Healthy Beaches.” Cameron Davis heads up the group. He says the cause of the higher bacteria levels is due to human waste in sewage overflows or because of feces from animals such as sea gulls.


“So that’s really at the heart of it, human and animal waste. And, we have to address all these sources. And, really, we’re not going to be able to control mother nature. We’re going to have to control what we, as people, can control. And, that’s what the prescription is all about.”


That prescription calls for beach visitors to learn more about the health threats, not leaving food for wild animals to consume, cleaning up after pets, and joining efforts to lobby municipalities to eliminate sewage overflows in the Great Lakes.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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